Chrissie and I had the pleasure of going to see Colin’s snowdrops, of which there were many ..

Colin has not long been in his present home and gardens but he has already done so much. He is out in the garden every day, come rain or shine, which puts me to shame, not that I am a total fair weather gardener.

He has great plans for the garden, and it is such a size and a lot of hard work, but he is so enthusiastic about what he is doing and so enjoys his garden.

The snowdrops are well worth a visit, but unfortunately you will have to wait until next February now….

Here are just a few photos taken in February, more to come throughout the year to see the changes he is making.

The show got off to a very wet start as Chrissie, Bernie (her husband) and fellow gardening club members battled with a storm that had decided to arrive at around 5.00 p.m., the gates were due to open at 6.00 p.m.

I couldn’t get there on time as I couldn’t get out of my front door for rain spouting out of the drainpipe; it was coming down that hard. Chrissie got drenched trying to re-site marquees and to keep everything dry, but just before the doors opened, the rain stopped, out came the sun and the show carried on. Unfortunately no one realised that the piano stool was soaking as the pianist took his seat, he managed until half time where he was helped to dry out (not telling how), and the second half went ahead.

It was once again a fabulous night with fabulous singers….. just absolutely amazing. Everyone had their picnics, champagne, wine, candles etc which all added to the atmosphere of the evening.

We donated the proceeds from the evening, which amounted to £1400 to the Southwell Flood Forum.

Well done to everyone who participated and also helped to make the evening a huge success.

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We carried on with Open Gardens on the Sunday 20th July. There were about six or seven gardens who had agreed to open for the day, cakes were made, plants were supplied, the sun came out, and another lovely day was had by all.

We raised £800 from the open gardens, which we donated to Reach, The Southwell Care Project.

Watch this space for Opera In The Garden next year …. Date to be published soon.

All proceeds to the National Garden Scheme who support many worthy charities such as Macmillan Cancer Support, Help the Hospices, Carers Trust, and The Queen’s Nursing Institute etc.

Bev Perks who is the owner of the Old Vicarage opens her garden to the public three or four times a year to raise funds for the National Garden Scheme, (it may be more).

She was our host for the evening and showed Southwell Gardening Club around her beautiful garden. She does most of the garden on her own, although sometimes she does involve the rest of her family in some of the heavier work. The garden is on a south-facing hillside and has, over the years, amassed lots of wonderful shrubs, herbaceous plants, clematis, roses, shrubs and many trees. She does actually have a tulip tree in the garden which hasn’t had a flower on it yet, and it is nearly thirteen years old, be patient Bev, only another two years to go and you may be rewarded with tulip like flowers as seen at Hodsock Priory.

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There are many hidden areas including a swimming pool, which is hidden by clever planting, a kitchen garden, a new wildflower meadow and a variety of wildlife ponds.

The weather was good to us and we had refreshments too with delicious cakes, just a perfect evening.

It is a beautiful garden and one which I have visited on many occasions, each time finding something new, or just sitting and soaking it all up and wishing !!

It is well worth a visit if you get the chance, and all proceeds go to the National Garden Scheme who supports many charities.

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Thank you Bev for such a beautiful garden and for making our evening just lovely.

Meet at front door just before 7.30 for tour, described as: ‘looking at the secrets of Hodsock. Learn more about the people that have lived here. Go behind the scenes with owner George Buchanan as he shows you secret passageways and doors and shares stories and shows artefacts.‘

After our talk from George Buchanan we decided to pay a visit to Hodsock Priory, and we were not disappointed.

It was a beautiful evening and we looked round the gardens first of all, which were a bit different to what you see in January/February with the snowdrops, but still very full with an abundance of flowers and shrubs and the “Tulip Tree” Liriodendron tulipifera – wow, what a tree. It can take up to fifteen years for it’s first flowering, but I think it is probably worthwhile, unless you are very impatient.

We met Mr Buchanan senior who was gardening late into the evening with his wheelbarrow in tow and list of jobs to do, but always time for a quick chat and hello.

George than took us into the house and gave us a talk about the history of Hodsock Priory and showed us around the beautiful building. Please visit http://www.hodsockpriory.com/brief-history for a bit more in depth history of Hodsock.

George and Katharine Buchanan have now taken over the management of Hodsock and have restored the Pavilion to make it a perfect wedding venue.

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In fact I came away greatly enthused and excited as my daughter is getting married in 2016 and I rang her up and told her all about it. Let us see how the Hodsock Wedding fund comes along !!

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George supplied us with some wonderful treats that had been home made, and a constant refill of tea and coffee, just delicious.

All had a wonderful evening, and I will never tire of going to see the snowdrops in the spring.